Apparatus for manufacture of wall board



Apr. 24,- 1923. 1,452,742

R. J. JOHNSTON APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF WALL BOARD Filed Feb. 6, 1922 git. JJfiW Wk Patented Apr. 24, 1923.

ROBERT J. JOHNSTON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE ATENT OFF 'lC F. ROGGE, F CORDER, MISSOURI.

APPARATUS FOR'MANUF ACTURE OF WALL BOARD.

Application filed February 6, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it-known that I, ROBERT J. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Kansas City, county of Jackson, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Manufacture of lVall Board, of which the following is a complete specification.

The present invention relates to apparatus for use in the manufacture of wall boards, such as is used for providing an interior wall facing, and with special reference to that type of wall board which is made up in sections each formed with lips extending longitudinally along its opposite side edges,

and continuous with one face of the sec, tion, so that these sections are adapted to be arranged in alternately reversed relation with their side lips matched together in lapping relation, for providing a wall board of substantially even and uniform cross section throughout.

Accordingly, I have devised an apparatus. which comprises a suitable bed having a supporting surface for the wall board material, together with means for spreading this material into a layer of uniform thickness, and means operating simultaneously to produce continuous lines of depression extending in parallel directions longitudinally of the sheet. In its preferred form, this spreading means comprises a roller traveling longitudinally of the sheet to spread the material, and provided with suit- 5 able enlargements which. operate in the travel of the roller to produce said lines of depression whereby the wall board is formed with shouldered marginal lips for the purpose described.

With thisv general object in view, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of construction which I have devised for embodying the proposed improvements, after which the novel features therein will be particularly set forth and claimed.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a supporting bed with-the improved means associated therewith for spreading the wall board-material and also producing themarginal shouldered lips, in accordance with the present invention;

Serial No. 534,454.

ing the side margins thereof formed with shouldered lips 5, whereby said panels or sections 4 are adapted to be matched together in alternately reversed relation with the shouldered lips 5 in overlapping relation, all as set forth in. detail in my copending application, Serial No. 498,743, filed September 6, 1921. These wall board panels or sections 4 are adapted to be pro-.

duced from such material as straw board, wood pulp, or wood fiber and plaster, while this material is in a plastic condition, the said material being molded or rolled into a substantially uniform thickness, and afterward transferred to an oven for drying.

To provide a practical and quick method and apparatus for producing such wall board panels or sections having the shouldered lips 5, I have devised an apparatus which consists of a bed 6 providing a flat supporting surface, upon which to apply the wall board material in a plastic condition, and roll the same to a uniform layer of the desired thickness. Arranged in parallel re lation upon this supporting bed 6 is a pair of frame or form members 7 adapted to be bolted or otherwise fastened by means of bolts or screws 8, to the bed member 6, the required distance apart, according to the desired width of panel or section 4. The bed member 6 is provided with a plurality of series of bolt or screw openings 9 for permitting the said frame or form members 7 to'be secured at various distances apart, so that different widths of panels 4, may be produced.

For spreading the material while in its plastic condition into a layer of substantially even thickness, I employ a suitable form of roller 10 of a length substantially equal to the distance between the form of frame members 7, and having the axle 11 of the roller provided withrsuitable guide projections in the form of guide rollers 12 operating in guide grooves 14 formed in the inner faces of the form members 7, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. By means of this guide groove and roller structure, the roller is obliged to travel at a constant distance above the top face ofthe bed memoer 6, in orderto insure a uniform thickness of panel 4. The opposite ends of the roller 10 are further provided with suitable enlargements, such as may be formed by a band or collar 15 secured to each end of the roller, so that as the roller is caused to travel in the path provided therefor between the form members 7, the said enlargements represented by said bands or collars 15, will simultaneously depress the material along the side margins adjacent the inner edges of the frames or forms 7, and thus producing the shouldered lips 5 along each side margin of the sheet.

Obviously, the panel 4 may be made in any desired len th, and the roller 10 actuated in any preferred manner, either manually or by power, the drawing showing a bail member 17 pivotally connected to the shaft 11 at the opposite ends of the roller, and formed with one or more arms 18 to which any desired form of connection may be made for actuating the roller 10 back and forth between the frame or form members 7.

It will thus be apparent that I have devised a practical, simple and yet eflicient apparatus for producing wall board panels of the character described, in any desired width or length, and at the same time producing the requisite shouldered lip formation along the opposite side margins of these panels. The operation of the apparatus will be obvious in view of the foregoing and without further explanation, and while I have illustrated what I now regard as the preferred form of construction for embodying these improvements, I desire to reserve the right to make such changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for making sheets of wall board having'a marginal shouldered lip, a bed providing a supporting surface for receiving the wall board material in plastic condition, a roller adapted for travel across said supporting surface for spreading said material into a layer of uniform thickness,

the opposite ends of said roller being provided with guide projections, and parallel frame members formed with guideways for receiving said guide projections and operating therethrough to maintain said roller at a constant distance above said supporting surface, one end of said roller being formed with an annular enlargement operative to produce said shouldered lip by "depressing the material along a continuous line running in the direction of travel of the roller.

2. In apparatus for making sheets of wall board having a marginal shouldered lip, a bed providing a supporting surface for receiving the wall board material in plastic condition, a pair of longitudinal frame members spaced apart a distance equal to the width of sheet to be produced, a roller adapted for travel across said supporting surface between said frame members for spreading said material into a layer of uniform thickness, the opposite ends of said roller being provided with axial guide rolls, said frame members being provided with guideways in parallel relation for receiving said guide rolls and operating thercthrough to maintain said roller at a given distance above said supporting surface, one end of said roller being formed with an annular enlargement traveling in abutting relation to the edge of one of said frame members and operative to produce said shouldered lip by depressing the material continuously in the path of travel of said enlargement.

3. In apparatus for making sheets of wall board having a margin shouldered lip along each side margin of the sheet, a bed providing a supporting surface for receiving the wall board material in plastic condition and provided with longitudinal form members spaced apart a distance equal to the width of sheets to be produced, each of said form members being provided with a bearing groove, and a roller operable to spread the material into a layer of uniform thickness, the opposite ends of said roller having guide projections traveling in the bearin grooves of said form members, for maintaining the roller at a constant distance above said supporting surface, said roller having enlargements operative to prodoce said shouldered lips by depressing said material during the travel of the roller along each of the side margins of the sheet.

In witness whereof I hereunto afiix my signature. v

ROBERT J. JOHNSTON. 

